Method, apparatus, signals, and medium for managing transfer of data in a data network

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for managing a transfer of data in a data network identifies data associated with a communication session between a first node and a second node in the data network. Further processing of the communication session occurs when a portion of the communication session meets a criterion and the communication session is permitted to continue when the portion of the communication session does not meet the criterion.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/220,762 filed on Sep. 6, 2005 entitled METHOD, APPARATUS, SIGNALS,AND MEDIUM FOR MANAGING A TRANSFER OF DATA IN A DATA NETWORK, the entiredisclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates generally to computer networks and networksecurity, and more particularly to a method, apparatus, signals, andmedium for managing a data transfer on a data network.

2. Description of Related Art

The rapid expansion of high-speed Internet connections and the use ofthe World Wide Web for commerce, entertainment, and education hasprovided significant benefits to the global user community. Thewide-spread, low cost, and continuous availability of web-basedinformation services has resulted in developments ranging from newbusiness models to portals which provide access to government andeducation services, to the rapid and free exchange of ideas andinformation for all members of the Internet community.

Companies have come to increasingly rely on their internal and externalnetworks for information dissemination, service delivery,communications, and data storage, for example. Companies have becomeparticularly vulnerable to disruptions to both internal and externalnetwork services. Such disruptions may occur from, for example,malicious code such as computer viruses that may be transmitted viaemail or other file transfers from an external network. Companies mayalso need to protect sensitive information in their internal networkfrom access by unauthorized users. At the same time companies have todeal with an ever increasing number of communication and file transferservices, such as instant messaging and peer-to-peer file sharing. Theuse of such services by employees of a company may expand to occupy asubstantial portion of available bandwidth in a company network. Much ofthe traffic may be frivolous communication, while at the same timedistracting workers from assigned tasks.

There is thus a desire to exercise some control over such traffic inboth internal and external networks. For example, company policy maydictate that all instant messaging and peer-to-peer traffic between anycomputer on the company network and any computer outside the companynetwork must be subject to one or more policy rules. Such policy rulesmay include completely blocking access to certain applications.

Similarly, there may also be a need to monitor and control non-frivolouswork-related communications and other data transfers, which mayinadvertently subject the internal company network to viruses, intrusionattempts or other unauthorized uses.

While such monitoring and controlling of traffic is in many instanceshighly desirable, such processes may require the provision of additionalcomputer resources. Depending on the company's network managementpolicies, the monitoring and controlling of data transfers may place asubstantial overhead on the operation of the network and may result inunacceptable delays in transferring data from internal to externalnetworks, particularly where there are a large number of networkmanagement policies in place.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod for managing a transfer of data between a first node and a secondnode in a data network. The method involves identifying data associatedwith a communication session between the first node and the second node.The method also involves further processing the communication sessionwhen a portion of the communication session meets a criterion, andpermitting the communication session to continue when the portion of thecommunication session does not meet the criterion.

The transfer of data may involve a plurality of data packets andidentifying data associated with the communication session may involveidentifying particular data packets associated with the communicationsession.

Identifying particular data packets associated with the communicationsession may involve reading data packets transmitted by at least one ofthe first node and the second node.

Identifying particular data packets associated with the communicationsession may involve reading a header associated with each of theplurality of data packets.

Reading the header may involve reading and at least one of a sourceaddress field, a destination address field, a source port field, adestination port field, and a protocol field.

The method may further involve labeling the particular data packets toindicate that the particular data packets are associated with thecommunication session.

Labeling the particular data packets may involve associating a datalabel with the particular data packets.

The method may involve determining whether the data packets comply withan Internet Protocol (IP).

The method may involve determining whether the data packets comply witha Transport Control Protocol (TCP).

The method may involve identifying a signature associated with the dataassociated with the communication session.

Identifying the signature may involve identifying a pattern in the dataassociated with the communication session.

Identifying the signature may involve performing signature analysis onthe data associated with the communication session.

Identifying the signature may involve determining whether the dataassociated with the communication session complies with a data transferprotocol.

Identifying the signature may involve determining whether the dataassociated with the communication session is addressed to a particulardestination.

Further processing may involve dropping the communication session.

Further processing may involve at least one of logging at least aportion of the communication session, limiting a bandwidth allocationassociated with the communication session, altering at least a portionof the data associated with the communication session, causing a messageto be transmitted to at least one of the first node and the second node,configuring a network resource to permit the communication session toproceed, and scanning the data associated with the communication sessionfor data patterns that indicate the presence of malicious code.

Further processing may involve terminating the communication session ata third node and dividing the communication session into a firstcommunication session between the first node and the third node and asecond communication session between the third node and the second node,the third node acting as a proxy node.

Permitting the communication session to continue may involve permittingthe communication session to continue on a first data transfer path andfurther processing may involve diverting the communication session to asecond data transfer path, the second data transfer path being slowerthan the first data transfer path.

Permitting the communication session to continue when the portion of thecommunication session does not meet the criterion may involve permittinga first portion of the communication session to continue whiledetermining whether another portion of the communication session meetsthe criterion.

The transfer of data may involve a plurality of data packets andpermitting a first portion of the communication session to continue mayinvolve permitting a first plurality of data packets associated with thecommunication session to be transferred while determining whether atleast one subsequent data packet associated with the communicationsession meets the criterion.

The method may involve associating a label with the data associated withthe communication session responsive to whether or not the portion ofthe communication session meets the criterion.

The communication session may be a first communication session and thefirst communication session may originate a second communication sessionand the method may involve further processing the second communicationsession regardless of whether the second communication session meets thecriterion.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer readable medium encoded with codes for directing a processorcircuit to carry out the above method and its variants.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer readable signal encoded with codes for directing a processorcircuit to carry out the above method and its variants.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided anapparatus for managing a transfer of data in a data network. Theapparatus may include provisions for identifying data associated with acommunication session between a first node and a second node in the datanetwork. The apparatus may also include provisions for furtherprocessing the communication session when a portion of the communicationsession meets a criterion, and provisions for permitting thecommunication session to continue when the portion of the communicationsession does not meet the criterion.

The transfer of data may include a plurality of data packets and theprovisions for identifying data associated with the communicationsession may include provisions for identifying particular data packetsassociated with the communication session.

The provisions for identifying particular data packets associated withthe communication session may include provisions for reading datapackets transmitted by at least one of the first node and the secondnode.

The provisions for identifying particular data packets associated withthe communication session may include provisions for reading a headerassociated with each of the plurality of data packets.

The provisions for reading the header may include provisions for readingat least one of a source address field, a destination address field, asource port field, a destination port field, and a protocol field.

The apparatus may include provisions for labeling the particular datapackets to indicate that the particular data packets are associated withthe communication session.

The provisions for labeling the particular data packets may includeprovisions for associating a data label with the particular datapackets.

The apparatus may include provisions for determining whether the datapackets comply with an Internet Protocol (IP).

The apparatus may further include provisions for determining whether thedata packets comply with a Transport Control Protocol (TCP).

The apparatus may further include provisions for identifying a signatureassociated with the data associated with the communication session.

The provisions for identifying the signature may include provisions foridentifying a pattern in the data associated with the communicationsession.

The provisions for identifying the signature may include provisions forperforming signature analysis on the data associated with thecommunication session.

The provisions for identifying the signature may include provisions fordetermining whether the data associated with the communication sessioncomplies with a specific data transfer protocol.

The provisions for identifying the signature may include provisions fordetermining whether the data associated with the communication sessionis addressed to a specific destination.

The provisions for further processing may include provisions fordropping the communication session.

The provisions for further processing may include at least one ofprovisions for logging at least a portion of the communication session,provisions for limiting a bandwidth allocation associated with thecommunication session, provisions for altering at least a portion of thedata associated with the communication session, provisions for causing amessage to be transmitted to at least one of the first node and thesecond node, provisions for configuring a network resource to permit thecommunication session to proceed, and provisions for scanning the dataassociated with the communication session for data patterns thatindicate the presence of malicious code.

The provisions for further processing may include provisions forterminating the communication session at a third node and provisions fordividing the communication session into a first communication sessionbetween the first node and the third node and a second communicationsession between the third node and the second node, the third nodeacting as a proxy node.

The provisions for permitting the communication session to continue mayinclude provisions for permitting the communication session to continueon a first data transfer path and the provisions for further processingthe communication session may include provisions for diverting thecommunication session to a second data transfer path, the second datatransfer path being slower than the first data transfer path.

The provisions for permitting the communication session to continue whenthe portion of the communication session does not meet the criterion mayinclude provisions for permitting a first portion of the communicationsession to continue while determining whether another portion of thecommunication session meets the criterion.

The transfer of data may include a plurality of data packets and theprovisions for permitting a first portion of the communication sessionto continue may include provisions for permitting a first plurality ofdata packets associated with the communication session to be transferredwhile determining whether at least one subsequent data packet associatedwith the communication session meets the criterion.

The communication session may be a first communication session and thefirst communication session may originate a second communication sessionand apparatus may include provisions for further processing thecommunication session regardless of whether the second communicationsession meets the criterion.

The apparatus may include provisions for associating a label with thedata associated with the communication session in accordance withwhether the portion of the communication session meets the criterion ordoes not meet the criterion.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided anapparatus for managing a data transfer between a first node and a secondnode in a data network. The apparatus includes a processor circuit and amemory encoded with codes for directing the processor circuit to performthe above method and its variants.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided anapparatus for managing a transfer of data in a data network. Theapparatus includes a session identifier operably configured to identifydata associated with a communication session between a first node and asecond node in the data network. The apparatus further includes asession controller having an input for receiving a control signalindicating whether the communication session meets a criterion. Thesession controller is responsive to the control signal to produce asignal to indicate whether or not the communication session should bepermitted to continue or should be subjected to further processing.

The apparatus may include a signature analyzer operably configured toproduce the control signal in response to identifying a signatureassociated with the data associated with the communication session.

The signature may include a pattern characteristic of a particular typeof data transfer.

The signature may include a data protocol identifier.

The signature may include an address field.

The signature analyzer may include a hardware circuit which may includediscrete logic components.

The signature analyzer may include an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC).

The apparatus may include a further processing module operablyconfigured to perform the further processing, the further processingmodule including a third node operably configured to divide thecommunication session into a first communication session between thefirst node and the third node and a second communication session betweenthe third node and the second node, the third node acting as a proxynode.

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a data communication system inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a gateway used in thedata communication system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a signature analyzerused in the gateway shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a processor circuit for implementing asession identifier used in the gateway shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart including blocks representing codes executed bythe processor circuit of FIG. 4 to implement the session identifiershown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart including blocks representing codes executed bythe processor circuit of FIG. 4 to implement a session controller shownin FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of a further processingmodule used in the gateway shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 8 is a table of control signals generated by the signature analyzershown in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a data communication system according to a firstembodiment of the invention is shown generally at 10. The systemincludes a Wide Area Network 12 (WAN), such as an intranet or Internet,a Local Area Network (LAN) 14, and a gateway 16 connecting the WAN tothe LAN. The LAN 14 includes a plurality of nodes shown generally at 18,which may include networked devices such as personal computers 20 and22, but may also include, for example, other devices such as servercomputers, routers, wireless access points, input devices, and outputdevices. The WAN 12 also includes a plurality of nodes shown generallyat 24, which may include a server 26 and a personal computer 28. Theserver 26 may be an Instant Messaging (IM) mediation server thatfacilitates an instant messaging data transfer between personalcomputers 20 and 22 and the personal computer 28. Alternatively theserver may be a computer running a program that receives and processesrequests for information from other nodes connected directly to the WAN,such as the personal computer 28, or nodes connected to the WAN throughthe gateway 16 and the LAN 14, such as personal computers 20 and 22.

Generally the above components cooperate to manage a transfer of databetween a first node and a second node in a data network by identifyingdata associated with a communication session between the first node andthe second node and further processing the communication session when aportion of the communication session meets a criterion or permitting thecommunication session to continue when the portion of the communicationsession does not meet the criterion.

In one embodiment the transfer of data may include file or message datathat has been formatted into one or more data packets. Each data packetincludes a header portion and a data portion. The header portionincludes fields including information related to the source and/ordestination of the data packet. The data portion of the data packetincludes the file or message data. If the file or message data is toolarge to be transmitted in a single packet, it may be split up overseveral packets, in which case the header portion may also includeinformation related to the sequence of the data packets thusfacilitating correct re-assembly of the file or message data at thedestination.

The gateway 16 manages the transfer of data packets between the LAN 14and the WAN 12 and is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2. The gatewayincludes a network interface 40, which includes an input 42 and a dataoutput 44. The input 42 is in communication with the LAN 14. The networkinterface 40 includes circuitry that receives signals representing datapackets to be transferred at the input 42 and converts the signals intodata packets at the data output 44. In one embodiment the data at thedata output 44 may be data packets formatted in accordance with theInternet Protocol (IP). The network interface 40 may be an Ethernetinterface or a wireless interface, or any other network interface thatfacilitates the transfer of data between nodes in a data communicationsystem.

The gateway 16 further includes a session identifier 46, which includesa data input 48 and a data output 50. The data input 48 is incommunication with the data output 44 of the network interface 40. Thesession identifier 46 receives data packets at the data input 48 andreads the data packets to identify which packets should be associatedwith a communication session, before forwarding the data packets on tothe data output 50.

A communication session involves the exchange of data packets betweennodes that are in communication over a data network. For example,Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) data transfers allow a communicationsession to be established between a first node and a second node. TCPcommunication sessions include session establishment, a data transfer,and session termination. The session establishment takes place via athree-way handshake before the actual data transfer is able to proceed.During the session establishment, parameters such as sequence numbersare initialized to help ensure ordered and robust delivery of datapackets. Termination of a TCP session takes place via a four-wayhandshake. TCP data packets include a TCP header and a data portion. Theheader portion includes information such as a source port and adestination port. Details of the Transmission Control Protocol arecontained in the document “RFC: 793: TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL,DARPA INTERNET PROGRAM, PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION, September 1981”, whichis incorporated herein by reference.

In contrast, some data transfer protocols, such as the Internet Protocol(IP), provide almost no guarantees in respect of delivery of the datapacket, which may arrive damaged, out of order, may be duplicated, ormay have been dropped entirely. When sending IP data packets from afirst node to a second node, which have not previously communicated, noprior setup is required. Accordingly, the Internet Protocol does notprovide for the establishment of a communication session, and ifreliable data transfer is required, it may be provided by transportingdata according to an upper level protocol. For example, TCP data packetsmay be transported in the data portion of an IP data packet, in whichcase the data transfer is referred to as TCP over IP or TCP/IP. Detailsof the Internet Protocol are contained in the document “RFC: 791:INTERNET PROTOCOL, DARPA INTERNET PROGRAM, PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION,September 1981”, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The gateway 16 further includes a session controller 60, which includesa data input 62, a control signal input 66, and first, second and thirddata outputs 52, 64 and 68. The session controller 60 receives datapackets from the data output 50 of the session identifier 46 andforwards the data packets to one or more of the first, second and thirddata outputs 52, 64 and 68 in response to a control signal received atthe control signal input 66.

The gateway 16 also includes a signature analyzer 54, which includes adata input 56 and a control signal output 58. The data input 56 is incommunication with the data output 52 from the session controller 60,via a data line 55. The control signal output 58 is in communicationwith the control signal input 66 of the session controller 60, via acontrol signal line 59. The signature analyzer 54 receives data packetsfrom the session controller 60 at the data input 56 and determineswhether any portion of the data packets meets a criterion. The signatureanalyzer produces a control signal at the control signal output 58,which indicates whether or not a particular data packet meets thecriterion.

The signature analyzer 54 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. Thesignature analyzer 54 includes a data handler 100, which includes a datainput 102, an output 104 for producing a status signal, and a dataoutput 106. The data handler 100 receives data packets from the sessionidentifier 46 at the data input 102, and performs functions such as datapacket re-assembly.

The signature analyzer 54 also includes a policy manager 116, whichincludes a signature database 124 for storing a plurality of datasignatures. Each signature stored in the signature database 124 mayinclude a data pattern that is characteristic of a particular type ofdata transfer. A signature may also include user names, source ordestination addresses, source or destination ports, or a protocolidentifier, for example. In this embodiment the criterion is met for aparticular communication session when any of the signatures stored inthe signature database match data associated with the particularcommunication session.

In one embodiment the signature database 124 may also store a pluralityof policies to be followed in the event of a match to a particularsignature, in which case each signature stored in the signature databaseincludes an associated policy, which may also be stored in the signaturedatabase. The policy manager 116 also includes a signature signal output118 for producing signature signals and a policy signal output 120 forproducing policy signals representing the signatures and policies storedin the signature database 124.

The policy manager 116 also includes a communication port 122, whichfacilitates connection to the policy manager 116 by a systemadministrator via an administrator console 126 for updating ormaintenance of network management policies and/or signatures. Thecommunication port 122 may be a connection to a LAN.

In this embodiment the signature analyzer 54 includes a comparator 108,which includes a data input 110, a signature input 112, and a matchsignal output 114. The comparator 108 receives data at the data input110 from the data output 106 of the data handler 100, and compares thedata to signatures received on the signature input 112. The comparator108 produces a match signal at the output 114 when a signature matchesany portion of the data received at the data input 110, thus indicatingthat data associated with the communication session meets the criterion.

The signature analyzer 54 also includes a policy application module 130,which includes a first input 132 for receiving the status signal fromthe data handler 100, a second input 136 for receiving the match signalfrom the comparator 108, and a third input 138 for receiving the policysignal from the policy manager 116. The policy application module 130also includes an output 140 for producing the control signal on thecontrol signal line 59. The policy application module functions toproduce a control signal at the output 140 in response to the statussignal, the match signal, and the policy signal received on the first,second and third inputs 132, 136, and 138 respectively.

In one embodiment the signature analyzer 54 may be partly or fullyimplemented using a hardware logic circuit including discrete logiccircuits and/or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).Alternatively the signature analyzer 54 may be implemented using aprocessor circuit.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the gateway 16 also includes a furtherprocessing module 78, which includes a data input 80. The data input 80is in communication with the data output 64 of the session controller60. The further processing module 78 receives data packets from thesession controller 60 when the control signal indicates that the datapackets associated with the communication session meet the criterion.The further processing module 78 performs one or more further processingfunctions on the data packets, such as logging the data packets. In oneembodiment the further processing module 78 simply drops the datapackets after they have been logged (i.e. does not forward the datapackets on). In another embodiment the further processing module 78 mayinclude a data output 82 for forwarding the data packets afterperforming the further processing.

The gateway 16 further includes a network interface 70, which includesfirst and second data inputs 74 and 72 and a data output 76. The firstdata input 74 is in direct communication with the data output 68 of thesession controller 60 via a fast data transfer path 69. In oneembodiment, the data input 72 is in communication with the data output82 of the further processing module 78 and may receive data packets fromthe session controller 60 after they have been processed by the furtherprocessing module 78. The data output 76 of the network interface 70 isin communication with the WAN 12. The network interface 70 receives datapackets at either of the first and second data inputs 74 and 72 andconverts the data packets into signals representing the data packets,thus facilitating transmission of the data packets over the WAN 12.

Referring to FIG. 2, the session identifier 46 may be implemented usinga processor circuit shown generally at 150 in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG.4 the processor circuit 150 includes a central processing unit (CPU)152, a random access memory (RAM) 154, a read-only memory (ROM) 156, andinput/output interfaces (I/O) 158 and 160. The processor circuit alsoincludes a media interface 162, which facilitates loading program codesinto the ROM 156 or the RAM 154 from a computer readable medium 164,such as a CD ROM, or from a computer readable signal 168, such asprovided by an Internet connection, for directing the processor circuitto carry out functions according to a method associated with one aspectof the invention.

A flowchart depicting blocks of code for causing the processor circuit150 to implement the session identifier 46 is shown in FIG. 5 at 180.The blocks generally represent code that may be stored in the RAM 154 orthe ROM 156 for directing the CPU 152 to carry out a session identifierprocess. The actual code to implement each block may be written in anysuitable programming language such as C, C++, and/or assembler code, forexample.

The process begins with a first block of codes 182, which directs theCPU 152 to cause the I/O 158 to receive a data packet from the networkinterface 40 and to store the data packet in the RAM 154.

Block 184 then directs the CPU 152 to read a portion of the data packetto determine whether the data packet should be associated with acommunication session. For example, where the data packet is transferredusing IP, a communication session may be partially identified by readingan IP source address field and an IP destination address field in thedata packet header portion, to uniquely identify data packets beingtransferred between a first node and a second node.

However, IP data transfers between the nodes at the source address andthe destination address may include several different communicationsessions, such as TCP communication sessions, or other data transfersaccording to protocols that do not implement communication sessions atall. In this case it is necessary to determine what protocol the data inthe IP data packet portion complies with.

The protocol may be determined by reading an IP protocol identifierfield in the IP data packet header (which may have the value “6” for aTCP data transfer for example). Once the data transfer protocol isestablished, the existence of a communication session may be determinedby reading appropriate fields in the IP data portion. For example, wherethe IP data portion complies with the Transmission Control Protocol, aTCP source port, and a TCP destination port may be read to uniquelyidentify a communication session between the first and second nodes. Thevarious fields that are read to determine whether the data should beassociated with a communication session are hereinafter referred tosession identification fields.

Returning to FIG. 5, the block 184 directs the CPU 152 to read thesession identification fields in the data packet being transferred. Inone embodiment the CPU 152 maintains a session table (not shown) in theRAM 154, which records details of all active communication sessions. Thesession table includes a session record for each active communicationsession. The session record includes session identification fields suchas the IP source and destination addresses, the IP protocol field, TCPsource and destination ports, and any other fields that may be used toidentify a communication session under a particular data transferprotocol. Each session record also includes a field for storing a uniquecommunication session label which uniquely identifies a correspondingcommunication session. The unique communication session label may be anumber from a series of arbitrary numbers.

Block 186 directs the CPU 152 to compare the session identificationfields for the data packet being transferred to session records in thesession table. If the data packet includes session identification fieldsthat correspond to fields in a session record for an existingcommunication session included in the session table, the CPU is directedto block 188. Block 188 directs the CPU 152 to label the data packetwith the communication session label corresponding to the sessionrecord. For example, the label may be associated with the data packet byappending the label to the data packet.

If the communication session does not yet exist, the CPU 152 is directedto block 190, which causes it to add a new session record to the sessiontable. The new session record includes a new communication session labeland the session identification fields for the data packet beingtransferred. Block 190 also directs the CPU 152 to label the data packetwith the corresponding new communication session label.

The operation of the signature analyzer 54 is described in relation toFIG. 2 and FIG. 3. The signature analyzer 54 receives a data packet,which has been labeled with a unique communication session label, fromthe session controller 60, at the data input 102 of the data hander 100.In one embodiment, where the data has been split and transferred in aplurality of data packets, the data handler 100 may re-assemble the datapackets into order, and may re-combine at least a portion of the datapackets so that the signature analyzer 54 will be able determine whetherdata spanning one or more data packets meets the criterion. The datahandler 100 produces a status signal at the output 104. The statussignal includes a representation of the unique communication sessionlabel and other information relating to the data packets received. Forexample, the status signal may include information relating to a countof the number of data packets received for a particular communicationsession. The status signal may also include an indication of whethersufficient data has been received to perform signature analysis. Forexample, the status signal may be used to indicate that a pre-determinednumber of bytes have been received by the data handler 100. The datahandler 100 then forwards the re-assembled data to the data input 110 ofthe comparator 108.

The comparator 108 temporarily stores a copy of the data, which mayinclude data from a single data packet or a plurality of data packets.The policy manager 116 functions to look up a signature in the signaturedatabase 124, and produces a signature signal at the signature signaloutput 118 corresponding to the signature. Generally the signaturedatabase 124 includes a plurality of signatures and the policy manager116 sequentially looks up each signature and produces correspondingsignature signals. The comparator 108 compares the temporarily storeddata to the signature signals received from the policy manager 116 atthe signature input 112 of the comparator. If a signature matches aportion of the temporarily stored data received at the data input 110,the comparator 108 produces a match signal at the match signal output114 indicating that a match has been found in the data.

The policy signal includes an indication of a policy action to beperformed in the event of a match between the data received at the datainput 110 and a particular signature received at the signature input112. In one embodiment a policy action is associated with each signatureand the policy action and signature are stored in the signature database124, thus allowing different actions to be undertaken depending on thesignature that is found in the data.

In one embodiment the policy application module 130 combines the statussignal received at the input 132, the match signal received at the input136, and the policy signal received at the input 138 and produces thecontrol signal at the output 140. In this embodiment the control signalincludes four possible states as listed in the table shown in FIG. 8.

The state 00 is assigned by the policy application module 130 when thematch signal indicates that no match has yet been found and the statussignal indicates that sufficient data packets have not yet been analyzedby the signature analyzer 54 in order to determine whether the dataassociated with the communication session meets the criteria.

The state 01 is assigned by the policy application module 130 when thematch signal indicates that no match has yet been found and the statussignal indicates that sufficient data packets have been analyzed by thesignature analyzer 54 to consider the communication session safe. Inthis case signature analysis of the communication session may bediscontinued and the signature analyzer 54 no longer needs to receivedata packets associated with the communication session.

The state 10 is assigned by the policy application module 130 when thematch signal indicates that a match has been found and the policy signalindicates that the communication session should be further processed inthe further processing module 78. Such further processing is describedlater.

The state 11 is assigned by the policy application module 130 when thematch signal indicates that a match has been found and the policy signalindicates that the communication session should be dropped (i.e. nofurther data packets should be transferred). In this case the data maybe erased from the RAM 154, or may be transferred to the furtherprocessing module 78, where it may be logged, but not transferred.

Referring to FIG. 2, the session controller 60 may also be implementedusing the processor circuit 150. A flowchart depicting blocks of codefor causing the processor circuit 150 to implement the sessioncontroller 60 in the processor circuit 150 is shown in FIG. 6 at 200.Block 202 directs the CPU 152 to read a data packet from the RAM 154.Block 204 directs the CPU 152 to read the communication session labelassociated with the data packet.

In one embodiment control signals may be asynchronously received by thesession controller as the results of the signature analysis by thesignature analyzer 54 become available. Accordingly, when eachsuccessive control signal is received at the control signal input 66,the associated communication session label is read and the controlsignal is stored in a field in the session record corresponding to thecommunication session label.

If the communication session is a new communication session, anassociated control signal may not yet be available from the signatureanalyzer 54. Accordingly, when a new session record is generated for anew communication session by the session identifier 46, the controlsignal field is initially set to the “00” state, indicating that thecommunication session does not meet the criterion. Once a control signalfor the new communication session is available, the control signal fieldin the session record is overwritten, in which case the control signalfield may change state after a number of data packets have been analyzedby the signature analyzer 54.

Block 206 directs the CPU 152 to read the control signal from thesession table record corresponding to the communication session labelfor the data packet. Block 208 directs the CPU 152 to determine whetherthe communication session meets the criterion, as indicated by thecontrol signal state “10” or “11” in the table of FIG. 8. If the dataassociated with the communication session does meet the criterion, block210 directs the CPU 152 to send the data to the further processingmodule 78. If the control signal state is “11”, the further processingmodule 78 drops the communication session by for example, erasing thedata packet from the RAM 154.

Alternatively if the control signal state is “10” the further processingmodule 78 performs some other action. For example the further processingmodule 78 may cause a log to be made of all, or a portion of the datapackets associated with the communication session. The log may be storedin memory for later analysis. The further processing module 78 may limita bandwidth allocation associated with said communication session sothat certain types of traffic (such as instant messaging traffic) willnot be permitted to exceed a pre-determined portion of the networkbandwidth. The further processing module 78 may also alter data packetsassociated with the communication session to insert a message or removecertain data. The message may be transmitted to source and/ordestination nodes and may indicate that the transfer is subject torestriction in accordance with a network management policy.

Alternatively, in order to proceed, the communication session mayrequire a network resource to be specifically configured. For example,the further processing module 78 may cause a specific TCP port to betemporarily opened, thus permitting a communication session that wouldnot ordinarily be allowed, to proceed.

In one embodiment the further processing module 78 may cause datapackets associated with the communication session to be virus scanned todetect the presence of malicious code that may threaten the integrity ofthe network. Data packets associated with communication sessions that donot meet the criterion may not be scanned for malicious code or may bescanned to a different extent than communication sessions that arediverted to the further processing module 78. Alternatively, out of anabundance of caution, all data packets associated with the communicationsession may be virus scanned regardless of whether or not thecommunication session does or does not meet the criterion.

In some cases a communication session may give rise to anothercommunication session. For example an ongoing instant messaging sessionmay initiate a file transfer in a separate communication session. Insuch cases, where an original communication session has already beendetermined to meet the criterion and has been diverted to the furtherprocessing module 78, the separate communication session may also bediverted to the further processing module 78 without performingsignature analysis on data packets associated with the separatecommunication session.

Returning to FIG. 6, if the data associated with the communicationsession does not meet the criterion (indicated by the control signalstate “00” or “01”), block 208 directs the CPU 152 to block 212 wherethe CPU 152 causes the I/O 160 to write the data packet to the dataoutput 68, which is in communication with the data input 74 of thenetwork interface 70. The network interface 70 then converts the datainto data signals and transmits the data over the WAN 12. If the controlsignal state is “01”, a remaining portion of the communication sessionis considered safe and permitted to proceed along the fast data path 69.

If the control signal state is “00”, block 212 also directs the CPU 152to permit the communication session to proceed along the fast data path69, but the session controller 60 continues to forward data packetsassociated with the communication session to the signature analyzer 54.Thus, the communication session is initially permitted to proceedpending a determination by the signature analyzer 54 as to whethersubsequently transferred data packets meet the criterion, in which casea further processing action will be performed.

In another embodiment the session controller 60 may be implemented usinga separate processor circuit such as that shown at 150 in FIG. 4. Inthis case, once the session identifier 46 has labeled the data packetswith a communication session label the data packets are written out viathe I/O 160. The separate processor circuit then receives the datapackets on an I/O interface and stores the data packets in RAM memory.

Referring to FIG. 7, one embodiment of the further processing module isshown at 220. The further processing module 220 includes a proxy node226 which is in communication with a data store 238. The proxy node 226performs a logical splitting of a communication session between a firstPC 222 and a second PC 224, thus forming a first logical communicationsession indicated by the arrow 228 and a second logical communicationsession indicated by the arrow 230. The proxy node 226 performs amapping of IP source and destination addresses, TCP source anddestination ports, and data contained in TCP data packet data portions,such that PC's 222 and 224 are unaware of the logical splitting of thecommunication session by the proxy node 226. The proxy node 226 includesa data input 232 for receiving append data 236 which is inserted intodata packets being transferred through the node 226 causing a message tobe displayed at the PC 222 and/or PC 224 indicating that the users arenot permitted to transfer such data. The proxy node 226 also includes adata output 234 which is coupled to the data store 238 for forwardingcopies of the data packets, or a portion thereof, to a data store 238.The data store 238 may be a simple storage medium for storing data in anaccessible format but may also include facilities for performingstatistical or other analysis on the data transfers, for example.

Advantageously, the data associated with a communication session isinitially transferred from the network interface 40 to the sessionidentifier 46, the session controller 60, through the network interface70 and out onto the WAN 12. In this embodiment, the session controller60 does not wait for the signature analyzer 54 to complete the signatureanalysis and produce the control signal. Thus the data transfer isinitially allowed to proceed without undue delay on the fast datatransfer path 69 between the data output 68 of the session controller 60and the data input 74 of the network interface 70. The processesimplemented in the session identifier 46 and the session controller 60may be simple and fast, requiring reading and comparison of a smallnumber of fields from the headers of the data packets to identify anddetermine how to handle data associated with a communication session.

In contrast, depending on the policy in place in the gateway 16 thesignature database 124 may include a large number of signatures.Consequently, in this embodiment the process implements a networkmanagement policy that initially assumes that communication sessions aresafe, as would be the case in a large proportion of data transfers, andthen determines whether the communication session should be subjected tofurther processing or dropped.

The communication session has been described in relation to a TCP/IPcommunication session. However, other protocols such as User DatagramProtocol (UDP) may also support communication sessions through a higherlevel protocol that uses UDP for data transfer. Examples of some higherlevel protocols that support communication sessions include Domain NameServer (DNS), eDonkey, BitTorrent, and Real-Time Transport Protocol(RTP). For example DNS responses and requests include an ID field forindicating which response matches which request.

While the process is described in relation to an outbound data transferas depicted in FIG. 2, it should be understood that a communicationsession will generally include both outbound and inbound data transfersand that both inbound and outbound data may be received by the sessionidentifier 46 and processed as described above.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of theinvention only and not as limiting the invention as construed inaccordance with the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing a transfer of data betweena first node and a second node in a data network, the method comprising:identifying data associated with a first communication session betweenthe first node and the second node; identifying, through execution ofinstructions on a processor, a signature associated with said dataassociated with said first communication session; further processing,through execution of instructions on the processor, said firstcommunication session when a portion of said first communication sessionmeets a criterion, the criterion including the identified signatureassociated with said first communication session, the further processingdefined by a policy associated with the identified signature andincluding at least one action to be performed by the further processing,the at least one action including logging at least a portion of datapackets associated with said first communication session, altering ofdata packets associated with said first communication session prior totransmitting the data packets to at least one of the first node and thesecond node, the altering of data packets including inserting a messageor removing certain data as specified by the policy associated with theidentified signature, terminating the first communication session at athird node, and dividing the first communication session between thefirst node and the third node and a second communication session betweenthe third node and the second node, the third node to act as a proxynode; and permitting said first communication session to continue whensaid portion of said first communication session does not meet saidcriterion or upon completion of the further processing.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein identifying said signature comprises identifying apattern in said data associated with said first communication session.3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying said signature comprisesperforming signature analysis on said data associated with said firstcommunication session.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifyingsaid signature comprises determining whether said data associated withsaid first communication session complies with a data transfer protocol.5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying said signature comprisesdetermining whether said data associated with said first communicationsession is addressed to a particular destination.
 6. An apparatus formanaging a transfer of data in a data network, the apparatus comprising:means for identifying data associated with a first communication sessionbetween a first node and a second node in the data network; means foridentifying a signature associated with said data associated with saidfirst communication session; means for further processing said firstcommunication session when a portion of said first communication sessionmeets a criterion, the criterion including the identified signatureassociated with said first communication session, the further processingdefined by a policy associated with the identified signature andincluding at least one action to be performed by the further processing,the at least one action including logging at least a portion of datapackets associated with said first communication session and altering ofdata packets associated with said first communication session prior totransmitting the data packets to at least one of the first node and thesecond node, the altering of data packets including inserting a messageor removing certain data as specified by the policy associated with theidentified signature, terminating the first communication session at athird node, and dividing the first communication session between thefirst node and the third node and a second communication session betweenthe third node and the second node, the third node to act as a proxynode; and means for permitting said first communication session tocontinue when said portion of said first communication session does notmeet said criterion or upon completion of execution by the means of thefurther processing.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said means foridentifying said signature comprises means for identifying a pattern insaid data associated with said first communication session.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 6, wherein said means for identifying said signaturecomprises means for performing signature analysis on said dataassociated with said first communication session.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein said means for identifying said signature comprisesmeans for determining whether said data associated with said firstcommunication session complies with a specific data transfer protocol.10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said means for identifying saidsignature comprises means for determining whether said data associatedwith said first communication session is addressed to a specificdestination.
 11. An apparatus for managing a transfer of data in a datanetwork, the apparatus comprising: a processor device; a memory; asession identifier stored in the memory and executable by the processorto identify data associated with a first communication session between afirst node and a second node in the data network; a session controllerstored in the memory and executable by the processor and having an inputfor receiving a control signal indicating whether said firstcommunication session meets a criterion, said session controllerresponsive to said control signal to produce a signal to indicatewhether or not said first communication session should be permitted tocontinue or should be subjected to further processing before beingallowed to continue, the session controller executable to permit saidfirst communication session to continue upon receipt of the controlsignal indicating the first communication session does not meet saidcriterion; and a signature analyzer stored in the memory and executableby the processor to produce said control signal in response toidentifying a signature associated with said data associated with saidfirst communication session, the signature associated with a policydefining at last one action to be performed with regard to data packetsof said first communication session, the at least one action includingaltering of data packets associated with said first communicationsession prior to transmitting the data packets to at least one of thefirst node and the second node, the altering of data packets includinginserting a message or removing certain data as specified by the policyassociated with the identified signature, terminating the firstcommunication session at a third node, and dividing the firstcommunication session between the first node and the third node and asecond communication session between the third node and the second node,the third node to act as a proxy node.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein said signature comprises a pattern characteristic of aparticular type of data transfer.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, whereinsaid signature comprises a data protocol identifier.
 14. The apparatusof claim 11, wherein said signature comprises an address field.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein said signature analyzer comprises ahardware circuit comprising discrete logic components.
 16. The apparatusof claim 11, wherein said signature analyzer comprises an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC).